Completing the purchase of Twitter Inc. Oct. 28, 51-year-old billionaire entrepreneur Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said there would be big changes at the company to streamline operations, making the company profitable. Twitter’s Board was adamant that they wanted Musk to complete the $44 billion purchase or $54.20 a share purchase. Musk asked Twitter to account for the amount of “bots” or fake accounts to better ascertain shareholder value. But instead of talking it out, the Twitter’s board took Musk to Delaware’s Chancery Court to force the sale.. Little did Musk know as the stock price dived to under $30 a share it would rebound today to $53.70, attesting to shareholder confidence. Firing Twitter’s executive team including CEO Paraq Argawal and Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, who was responsible for banning former President Donald Trump Jan. 8, 2021, was first.
Musk as a new owner has every right to clean house at Twitter in the executive suite and in rank-and-file employees. Rebounding to $53.70 as share, evidently shareholders agree with Musk’s plan to streamline the company, finding ways to make the floundering company profitable. Whether the press despises Musk or not, he’s a decisive CEO knowing what to do to turn around a distressed company. Today’s press presents Musk as a heartless CEO, selfishly wrecking employees lives to give Twitter new life. Notifying Twitter staff that 50% would lose their jobs, presents Musk in the worst possible light. “As shared earlier today, Twitter is conducting a workforce reduction to help improve the health of the company. These decisions are never easy and it is with regret that we write to inform you that your role at Twitter has been impacted,” Musk wrote to employees.
Anytime venture capitalists make investments in businesses, turnaround experts do whatever is necessary to make the business profitable. If you listen to the press, Musk is the most heartless, evil and conniving owner imaginable. No one likes to lose jobs in merger-and-acquisitions.. “Today is your last working day at the company, however, you will remain employed by Twitter and will receive compensation and benefits through your separation date of Feb. 2, 2023,” Musk said. Does that sound like a heartless CEO, giving each rank-and-file Twitter employee three months of severance pay? Where does the press think it can trash Musk when he’s bent-over-backwards to accommodate all Twitter employees? How many companies give three months severance with benefits to rank-and-file employee? Maybe employees get two-weeks or one month worth of pay- and-benefits.
In the scheme of Musk’s work, Twitter doesn’t have the monetized platform needed to generate advertising revenue like most social network platforms. Facebook and Google generate billions in ad revenue, making their platforms the most profitable in the industry. Twitter became the preeminent communication platform, used by people and businesses all over the world to get the word out. Before Trump was banned from Twitter Jan. 8, 2021, he had over 93 million followers. When Twitter executive Vijaya Gadde banned Trump, Musk, who had nothing to do with Twitter, didn’t like the move because he though it violated free speech. Jan. 6 Capitol riots were not orchestrated and planned by former President Donald Trump. Yet Gadde thought nothing of violating Twitter’s 329 protection that requires the platform to let any third-party content without censorship unless it’s obscene.
Losing a job is never easy for executives or rank-and-file employees. But when a company must be turned around to protect its shareholders, steps must be done for long-term survival. Musk’s decision to layoff 50% of Twitter’s staff was not some exercise in cruelty but a necessary step in Twitter’s evolution. “During this time you will be on a None-Working Notice period and you’re access to Twitter systems will be deactivated. While you are not expected to work during the None-Working Notice period, you are still required to comply with all the company policies, including the Employee Playbook and Code of Conduct,” Musk said, notifying all employees currently under the severance arrangement to respect company policies. Keeping employees fully informed is the first obligation of transition teams working to make the termination easier for employees dealing with uncertainty.
For whatever reason, the press has it in for Musk, always looking for a way to criticize the billionaire entrepreneur for his business decisions. Twitter’s board did everything possible to complete the $44 billion, $54.20 a share deal to protect all shareholders. Paying millions in compensation to executives and give rank-and-file a three-month severance package was more than generous by Musk. Yet, if you listen to the press Musk has taken workplace cruelty to a new level. Nothing Musk does since closing the Twitter deal has been anything but above-board. Turn-a-round experts know what must be done to return companies to profitability, or in the case of Twitter, make the company profitable for the first time. Musk has given Twitter employees more than a generous termination offer, even if he winds up paying the salary-and-benefits out of his own pocket.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
